Rail-joint.



No. 799,740. PATENTED SEPT. 19, 1905. J. LE FEVRB.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED HARJB, 1905.

'lll llllllllllllluilmilm UNITED STATES JOHN LE FEVRE, OF TRAER, IOWA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19. 1905.

Application filed March 13, 1905. Serial No. 249,770-

.Z'o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN LE FEVRE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Traer, in the county of Tamaand State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a speci fication.

My invention relates to rail-joints, and has for its object to provide a strong and smooth joint between two abutting rail-sections.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of one of the rail-sections, and Fig. 2 a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the complete oint.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the two rail-sections are indicated at 5 and 6, respectively. For a distance from their re spective ends the rails are cut away diagonally in a vertical plane to form tongues 7 and 8, respectively, which are placed toether to form a lap-joint. The meeting faces of the tongues are equally formed, each having a vertical dovetail recess 9 and a correspondingly-shaped tenon 10, the tenon of one rail fitting in the recess of the adjoining rail, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

In cutting the rails as stated a part of the base-flanges on one side is removed, as at 11,

and beyond this the entire sides of the rails are removed to form the tongues 7 and 8. At the outer ends of the tongues the rails are cut, so that a portion of the base-flanges remains, as at 12, forming tongues which fit in the spaces 11, formed by cutting the baseflanges, as already stated. In cutting the base-flanges at 11 a receding shoulder 13 is formed, and a similar shoulder 14 is formed at the inner ends of the tongues 7 and 8, and those portions of the rail which abut against the shoulders are shaped accordingly. As

the outer ends of the tongues are quite thin in view of the diagonal cut, the webs are thickened or reinforced, as at 15, in which parts the bolt-holes 16 are made. The bolt-holes are oblong, and the joint willfit loose enough to permit expansion and contraction.

To form a solid support for the joint and to prevent the rail-sections from tilting upwardly, the joint rests on a number of ties, preferably three, to which the rails are securely spiked,the outer ends of the basefianges being notched, as at 17, for the spikes.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is j 1. A rail-joint comprising abutting rails having their ends cut away diagonally in a vertical plane and lap-jointed, the meeting faces of the rails being equally formed, each having a dovetail recess and a tenon, the tenon of one rail fitting in the recess of the adjoining rail.

2. A rail-joint comprising abutting rails having their ends cut away diagonally in a vertical plane to form tongues which are dovetailed together, receding shouldersbeing formed at the inner ends of the tongues in which the adjoining rail fits.

3. A rail-joint comprising abutting rails having their ends cut away diagonally to form tongues, a portion of the base-flanges remaining at the outer ends of the tongues, and the tongues being dovetailed together, receding shoulders formed at the inner ends of the tongues in which the adjoining rail fits, and a portion of the base-flanges of the rails behind the shoulders being removed in which the remaining base-flanges at the outer ends of the tongues fit.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN LE FEVRE.

Witnesses:

C. A. PRATT, S. M. ENDIoo'rT. 

